Friday, November 26, 2021

Friday Writings #4: Pain in Ink

Greetings, my dearest poets and storytellers, and welcome to another Friday Writings session. I hope your weekend starts well and keeps getting better. Since, I have spent the last few weeks with physiotherapists, orthopedists, neurologists (and an awesome dentist) discussing pain, it was only fitting that when I thought about a topic for today, un-dear Pain came to mind. So, if your muse wishes for some inspiration, I invite her (and you too) to write poetry or prose that explores psychological or physical pain.

The dictionary defines pain as

a physical suffering or distress, as due to injury, illness, etc.

a distressing sensation in a particular part of the body. 

a mental or emotional suffering or torment.

I would tell you how I define pain, but I doubt this platform would allow that amount of profanity without shutting us down. So, I will leave it to your imagination; or not, since this is just a suggestion. If you rather stay away from the pain monster, feel free to write about a topic of your own choosing.   

Let your contributions be new or old, short or longish (if going for prose, the word count should be 369 words or fewer). One link per participant, please. Remember to take a minute or 3 to visit other writers, and let them know what their words say to your brain.

for our next Friday Scribblings, our Rommy would like us to write poetry or prose from the point of view of a secondary character in a story (book, movie, TV show…).

 

34 comments:

  1. Now there's a pain scale I can relate to!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. (I mean 'relate to' as in understanding instantly what it conveys. Definitely an improvement upon percentages and other such mysterious mathematical things!)

      Delete
    2. The bees one really drives the point home.

      Delete
    3. I always think the smiley to crying faces pain scale lacks a considerable amount of screaming.

      Delete
  2. Magaly, I like your pain scale, I've visited every one, one through ten. I have a constant pain that doctors can't find, in my abdomen, right side. It first came in 2021, driving down a mountain in St Lucia. CT Scans and doppler scanning cannot figure it out. It has gotten worse the last few years. Nuff about that, I enjoyed writing to your prompt, sort of on the light side. I started to make a list poem but since I'm old and had and have pains all over your scale the list got out of hand.
    I parked it as a draft.
    ..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I suspect a list poem of pains wouldn't be much fun to write!

      Delete
    2. I second what Rosemary said.

      Delete
    3. Oops, that pain in my abdomen that started in St Lucia first came in 2001, not 2021.
      ..

      Delete
    4. Jim, Pain no one can't find reasons for are the worse. Before my Crohn's diagnosis I spent nearly 3 years going from doctor to doctor without known what was wrong. I hope you find some answers soon. 20 years without knowing seems like a very long time.

      Delete
  3. I'm saving this prompt for later as I've added the next installment of my friend Det. Bannon. I've completed the series and it has been approved by my editor/wife. I hope everyone likes it.

    Wishing a good weekend to everyone!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Whoopee! It's past my bedtime, but I'll be reading you with my breakfast tomorrow.

      Delete
    2. You're the best, Rosemary.
      To clarify - I have 4 more installments to go until the end of this case.

      Delete
    3. Sweet! Looking forward to the next chapter.

      Delete
    4. I can't wait to read how it ends, JM.

      Delete
  4. Have a good weekend everyone

    much❤love

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sorry! Please remove my first post, number 13, as I forgot to put the right link in. Number 14 is the correct direct link to my contribution. Humble apologies!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Done! (The correct link now becomes number 13, lol.)
      And hey, welcome to this community! We're so glad you found us.

      Delete
    2. I'm glad I found you too! Thanks for correcting my mistake.

      Delete
    3. Welcome to Poets and Storytellers United, Carol!

      Delete
    4. Carol, I had issues commenting on your post. I read the poem--which I really enjoyed, especially the end--but when I tried to comment, it went poof.

      Delete
  6. Good day, Poets and Storytellers!
    Pain, pain, being through some. mostly heartaches. and today, i am posting something from the prompt. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah yes, life comes with pain, doesn't it? (Fortunately it also comes with the moments of joy.)

      Delete
    2. I felt the pain in your poem, Lee san.

      Delete
  7. I mostly experience widespread low-grade chronic pain. It's hard to explain to people that it makes me tired.
    Midway through November 2017, I started experiencing excruciating pain in my left arm. I ignored the numbness and tingling that preceded this pain. As it happens, I severely injured the median nerve by continuing to bear heavy loads while delivering groceries and alcohol. I had no insurance and had to quit my job and wait for Medicaid to kick in. During that six weeks, I was in non-stop agony that was only alleviated by laying on the arm until it went to sleep. Fortunately, physical therapy helped with the pain fairly quickly, but I still don't have full range of motion in the arm.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't know how anyone bears non-stop agony! But I can understand how the widespread chronic pain would make you very tired.

      Delete
    2. I understand better than I wish I did. Chronic pain is freaking exhausting, and it rarely attacks without its horrible sister: fatigue. My chronic pain started in 2001, and since then I've had bad days, not so bad days, and terrible days. On the shoulder bit, I injured my left shoulder in May. Like you, I was in agony for a few weeks. At first, I thought that it was just one of those random nerve pains that comes after chemo, so I just let it be for a while. Then not sleeping got everything worse. When I finally let the doctor take a look, they found so many tears that they gave up counting. I've been on physical therapy, occupational therapy, and prolotherapy since. I've recovered about 60% of my range of motion. Just a few days ago, my orthopedist told me that I have a 50/50 chance to get full functionality back. I'm not crazy about my odds. Still, right now, I'm just glad that it's not my dominant arm. I hope we both get our arms fully back... eventually.

      Delete
  8. Hello Poets and Storytellers, I hope you are well. The year is winding down, and I follow its rhythm. So, to everyone who supported my writing this year, a BIG THANK YOU. I wish you and your loved ones a peaceful holiday season!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love the pain scale image... bees?... bees! I have copied that for my own use. Lol. I've had a lot of discussions lately about empaths and how we can sometimes take on the pain of others and how it affects our own health. So that is the perspective I took with my poem.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sensitive empathic powers can be both a blessing and a curse. I have a friend who is highly empathetic. She's always exhausted...

      The pain scale made me giggle, too. I'm totally getting the poster for one of my pain management doctors, who has an excellent sense of humor.

      Delete
  10. Hi all. Trying to catch up a bit here.

    https://purplepeninportland.com/2021/12/04/components/

    ReplyDelete

Please be respectful of all the people on this site, as each individual writer is entitled to their own opinion, style, and path to creativity.